Wednesday, January 14, 2015

The Corsair: Predictions 2015

Another year, another set of predictions -- some fun, some pulled from the noosphere at great personal cost. Over the years some of my predictions have been uncanny, like, in 2012: "ABC's Good Morning America will come within a whisker of tying NBC's Today, leading to some consternation among the suits at 30 Rock as to whether or not Ann Curry was a good replacement for Meredith Vieira." Also, in 2013 The Corsair predicted: "Samantha Power will be nominated to become United States Ambassador to the United Nations;Susan Rice will be named National Security Advisor."Some have been embarrassing. In 2012 this blog made many predictions -- like: "Charlie Rose will be forced to cut back on his hyper-media schedule due to health concerns. Walter Isaacson will replace him on his late night talk show." Yikes!Last year I predicted: "Chuck Todd will replace David Gregory as host of Meet the Press." When I am good I am scary. I also wrote: "NY Governor Andrew Cuomo will offer Bill de Blasio $250 million in targeted state monies for pre-K spending as an olive branch instead of pressuring Albany to raise taxes on the city's wealthy." I'm fucking amazing sometimes.Here's my predictions for this year. I made this one in 2014, I'll double down in 2015: "In Spring, in the 'Mile High City,' Hillary Clinton will give a serious, but occasionally funny argument on why marijuana should be legalized ("while it is not for me ... government should not stand in the way of the pursuit of happiness of millions of Americans"), signaling her intent to run for President."Malia Obama will grace the prestigious September issue of Vogue 2015.War crimes will be brought against Israel by the ICC in the second half of 2015, after Palestine becomes an official member.Harry Reid will retire rather than run for re-election in another of his signature squeakers.The GOP will roll back the Presidents immigration reform through executive decisions. In a surprise move, the Pope, who plans to visit the US in the Fall, will deliver a sharply pro-international immigration message that will help Democrats -- in PA, OH particularly -- and cause a lot of conservative Catholics (including, publicly, Rick Santorum and Paul Ryan) to rethink their thinking on the GOP policy.Rush Limbaugh, representing conservatives, will engage in a very public pissing match with Mike Huckabee, representing the hillbilly wing of the Republican party. Sean Penn and Charlize Theron will get married.Mike Huckabee will surge in Iowa; Rand Paul will surge in NH.Pakistan and India will move closer together diplomatically. Iran and the US will sign some sort of nuclear agreement, causing both israel and our Sunni allies -- Saudi Arabia, UAE, Qatar -- some anxious moments.Cameroon and West Africa will become the new central battleground in the war on terror. Jim Webb will mount a credible challenge to Hillary Clinton in New Hamshire, causing some conniptions in Clintonworld. Pat Buchanan and